Sustainably Rustic

Rustic

by Amanda Benton

David Hughes is a master garden designer who complements his gardens with wood furniture that he makes. All of his creations are both unusual and environmentally safe: restoration and preservation are his ultimate goals. Weatherwood Design’s purpose is not just about creating a product, but about creating a product that won’t leave a large footprint.

Upon arriving at the Weatherwood Design’s building, I am pleasantly surprised by finding a beautiful farmhouse. The house was originally built by David’s grandfather, Sylvester (Wess) Cook, in 1932. David tells me, “It’s original section was the classic I-House styled farm house; a vernacular type of architecture which was characterized as being only one room deep (from the front to the back of the house) which means unlike most house styles, most rooms get window light from three walls.” The house was later added on to in the 1990s.

I can tell by David’s quiet mannerisms that he is a reserved man, yet I am warmly greeted inside. His father welcomes me with a spread of crackers, cheese, and savory homemade cookies. My eyes are immediately drawn to the high ceilings and I marvel at the large Colonial style fireplace in the kitchen. Quality craftsmanship apparently runs in the family.

Although David is currently living in his father’s house, he grew up in Glenside, Pennsylvania where his father taught high school. But he has always had ties to the area as both his mother’s and father’s parents lived in Bucks County. After college, he worked in Lancaster for several years before returning to the area. After marrying Carol, an artist, the idea of opening a landscaping business became a reality. When they divorced, his wife kept the name of their business and David kept their clients. This was the beginning of his landscaping design business, using his grandfather’s farmhouse as headquarters.

As a residential landscape designer, David offers his services to anyone from any area. He has clients from the city who are interested in bringing more of a rustic style into their home with a piece of his furniture, or local clients who are interested in restoring their gardens. Many are interested in David’s native plant gardens. ‘These are plants that have been here before Columbus’ time,” he explains. These plants have naturally evolved over time and are based on the climate, soil, and geographic landforms. For Bucks County specifically, that means that these native plants have adapted to the humidity, cold winters, extreme temperature fluctuations and the variety of soils. Due to the area’s average rainfall of about 40 to 42 inches annually, the popularity of rain gardens is no surprise. David explains that rainwater harvesting involves finding ways to collect the most water and directing it back to the plant life. Sometimes this means adding a pond or catching rainwater from the roof.

When designing any type of garden, David will include plants that work well within the ecological system that is already in existence. For example, with rain gardens or water harvesting, David includes plants that will soak up water or will store water for later. Concerned for the habitation, he makes sure to design a functional and ecological friendly garden. “If I don’t do my job well, it won’t survive,” he states. “If [the habitat] gets too low we may not have enough medicinal compounds for the future.” This is one of the reasons why David will work with habitats that most landscapers wouldn’t bother touching. Improving an ecological system is important to preserving and maintaining plant life for future generations. Aside from native plant gardens, David has worked with farmers wishing to pollinate with bees. He has also designed and restored hedgerows, wildflower, woodland, and wetland gardens. Landscaping, however, is only part of the services that Weatherwood Design offers.

When I ask about David about his woodworking, he shows me one of the outbuildings that he uses as a workshop. When I look at the interior, I am surprised at its small size. But the size of his workshop doesn’t hinder his creativity. Every inch of the space is used for woodworking. “When I’m using the saw, I have to open the window,” he says. Despite his current situation, he creates beautiful works of art.

David’s interest in woodworking began in 2008, after realizing that it was unnecessary to dispose of trees that had been pulled. During the winter months as the landscaping waned, he began experimenting with furniture designs. Garden benches were his first attempt as a way to enhance his gardens. By 2010 he changed his business name to Weatherwood Design and thus began his current business. His rustic furniture has expanded to chairs, benches, coffee tables, and side tables. Recently, he has designed custom deer fencing or decorative fences for clients. Deer fencing is one of his more common projects as Bucks County is overrun with deer. Other custom made products are arbors, railings, tables, and gates. Many of his custom pieces are commissioned, but he warns “You won’t know what you’re getting until it’s built.”

Some of his favorite commissions are from clients that have fallen or dying trees on their property that they wish to preserve. Those projects are special not only to the client, but to David as well because he is not only preserving a tree, but also a legacy.

Most of David’s furniture is made for outdoor use, which is why he likes to work with rot resistant woods. His favorites are black locust, Osage orange, white mulberry, English yew, sassafras, and cedar. But he will use just about any kind of wood on his projects such as driftwood, reclaimed wood, or barn wood. As he is apt to preserving beautiful trees, he will ask to harvest dead or decaying trees for future projects. He will sometimes create a piece using the materials found on a client’s property. With 27 years of experience in landscape architecture, it is no surprise that David mimics the contours, valleys and ridges of the land in his furniture.

Diversity inspires him. In his eyes, creating a project is like trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle. Due his raw designs, his projects can take months to complete as he may not have all the needed pieces. There are no straight edges in his creations, which reflects his heavy influence from Shaker furniture—a furniture made from a religious sect that follows minimalist designs. Because his projects involve such a diverse variety of woods it is a constant struggle to make sure that the different woods look well together.

Although he tends to form a design as he creates, he makes models as a reference. As I follow him into his father’s library, which is his temporary office, he says, “I like to make models of my ideas because I’d rather spend three hours on a model and mess up rather than mess up on an actual piece.”

After exploring the office, I am privileged to see some of his handiwork as soon as I walk into the sitting room. It is filled with David’s furniture, which could partially be for my benefit. Yet, it seems as though the furniture belongs in the room, adding to the country rustic charm of the home. Two of his chairs are placed by the fireplace and I decide that I must try one of them for myself. Both are similar in the design, but it is evident that each was crafted differently.

No two pieces of David’s handcrafted furniture is the same. He loves being able to take rough pieces of wood, rather than wood that has been run through a mill. This is where his inspiration of diversity can be seen in his work. It is obvious that he cares about each piece, as he tells me with a smile, “What I find more beautiful is working with the grain and letting the tree tell the story.” Every one of his projects are indeed a jig-saw puzzle as David discovers what materials fit together as he works. The time that he takes to design a piece is a testament to his craftsmanship. His care is evident as all of his work has its own personality.

One of the pieces that showed its story was a long coffee table. On one of its legs, made of Norway maple, scarring was evident. But rather than cut away at the scarring, David cut around the scarring, leaving it as part of the table’s design. A piece of blade walnut with areas of decay was used for the tabletop. These areas of scarring and decay added a lot of character to the table, making it unique and beautiful. Another piece that caught my eye was a small table that sat behind me—which was made from a tree that had fallen during Superstorm Sandy. With all of David’s custom pieces, there is a story behind it as he takes the time to find the perfect materials for every project. The story is not only found in the materials that he has used, however, but also of David himself. It is obvious that this is a man who greatly cares about the earth and all wildlife.

Surprisingly, it has been a challenge to sell his rustic furniture. David has found his rustic style to be more popular in the Adirondack area, as well as those from the city who wish to bring the rustic style to their home. He has also had clients from areas who, he says, “are more in tune with nature.” In an effort to bring in more local clients, David’s designs have been featured at several different events, such as the Philadelphia Furniture Show, the Doylestown Art Festival, Art in the Garden, and the Bucks County Designer House. He has taught several workshops for children also, helping them design their own unique creations using materials found in nature. But he doesn’t plan to stop there.

The expansion of Weatherwood Design is already in the works as David will soon be moving to another location. The four-acre property, located in Pipersville, is the future permanent site of Weatherwood Farm. It is here that David hopes to settle down, giving himself plenty of room for growing his own trees as well as the room for displaying his designs. Guests can attend his annual open houses held at Weatherwood Farm as he has already begun work on the property.

When visiting be sure to check out his solar shower made from rot-resistant black locust posts and white mulberry branches and an outdoor quality fabric for privacy. This shower is not only a work of art, but ecologically friendly. He explains, “I heat up the five gallon bags on a rock outside of the shower and then use a pulley system to pull the bags up into place.”

Once he finishes work on the property, guests will also be able to see his woodwork, explore his workshop (which he hopes to have run on solar and wind power), and a close-up look at his gardens. The only building currently on the premises, an 1859 cottage, will also be open for exploration as David hopes to restore it, turning the first floor into a gallery and the second floor into his office. Later on, he will build his private home further back on the property.

After learning about Weatherwood Design, I felt inspired by David’s commitment to preserving and restoring what nature has bestowed. His designs demonstrate the harmony of an ecological system, the beauty found in the midst of decay, and the legacy of a fallen tree.

Weatherwood Design is located at 4201 Mechanicsville Road, Doylestown, PA 18902. For more information about garden design and furniture, call 215-260-0566, email dhughes@weatherwooddesign.com or visit www.weatherwooddesign.com.

Worthington and Shagen Custom Builder

Now in our fourth generation as a family business, at Worthington and Shagen Custom Builder we build custom-crafted, extraordinarily detailed, and fine-finished new homes, renovations, restorations, and additions.